Life and Work with Faith Broussard Cade

Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Broussard Cade.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Faith. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a southern Louisiana girl, so it’s safe to say that I. Love. Food. Like, really, REALLY love food.  And even that’s an understatement. It’s in my blood, it’s who I am. My happiest and most vivid childhood memories growing up in the heart of Cajun country in New Iberia, Lousiana, happened in my granny’s kitchen. Cutting and bagging fresh okra. Shucking corn. Chewing on stalks of sugarcane my older brothers and I had hijacked from the sugarcane field right behind her house. The rice and gravy. The red Kool-Aid frozen in styrofoam cups that we’d suck on all summer until our tongues were numb. The Sunday dinners after church and the little scoop of potato salad she’d save to the side just for me before she added the sweet relish because she knew I hated it. The big pots of gumbo. The endless supply of little round butter cookies she’d let me snack on and wear as rings while she cooked. The memory of no matter how little money she had, her pots and her heart always seemed so full…

Those are the moments I cherish. The moments that show the therapeutic nature of food. The healing power of a warm smile and a good meal.  The way a bowl of gumbo can warm the soul all year round. These are the moments I want to share with my sweet little girl as she pulls her step stool right next to me at the kitchen counter while I bake, wanting to “hep mama.” These are the moments that you can smell, hear, taste, and feel with every part of you no matter how much time has passed. These are the moments that I’ll never forget and I’m so excited to share with each of you.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It most certainly has NOT been a smooth road. If you’ve ever been to New Iberia, Louisiana, where I’m from, you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. There have been just as many bumps and lumps in this journey as there are in somebody’s Jiffy cornbread who didn’t stir that batter enough! Whew! Just check out my blog to read about a few of the hiccups I’ve experienced along the way.

As women, we often feel obligated to do everything, be everything, save everyone, and smile the entire time. I’m a wife, mother, school counselor, blogger, baker, personal chef, carpool driver, nurse, housekeeper, volunteer, hairstylist, and professional “boo boo” kisser… and that’s the short list. We’re just so busy that we neglect ourselves and oftentimes, our passion and purpose.

My Granny always used to say, “Y’all better get somewhere and sit down!” The more I live and work and experience the world, the more I’m finally able to comprehend the infinite wisdom all wrapped up and tucked away inside those words of hers.

“Get somewhere and sit down.”

Like some all-encompassing permission slip telling you it’s okay to sit. To be still. To pause. To reflect. To let your mind wander for a bit. To not always be busy. To take a break. I couldn’t understand it then, but I get it now. You’ll always have opportunities to be busy. There will always be tasks needing to be done. Obligations will always be competing for your attention. But, there is a virtue to be found in stillness. In those quiet moments. In unplugging for a while. In that sacred space of mindfulness. I’m convinced that granny did some of her best thinking in that living room chair watching the grass grow or the rainfall. Maybe that’s where God revealed to her all the nuggets of wisdom she passed down to the rest of us. Maybe that’s where she came up with some of her best recipes, too.

Either way, I’m grateful for the time she spent in that chair. I’m learning to appreciate that there is “Purpose in the Pause.”  And now, I’m taking advantage of every opportunity to “get somewhere and sit down,” and I believe that all women can benefit from this simple mantra.

Please tell us about Fleur de Lis Sweets.
I’m a cook, baker, and blogger of all things food, family, motherhood, and “ADULTING.” I started out baking for clients from my home kitchen while also working as a full-time school counselor for Fulton County Schools. But, after about 3 years of some really long nights and weekends, I made the tough choice to conclude baking for hire and to focus on combining my love for food with my passion for journalism, writing, sharing, and “advice giving.”

In essence, I consider myself a Food Therapist. It never fails, that as I write about a particular recipe, a childhood memory or experience comes to mind. Or a recent conversation with a good friend. Or the good Lord blesses me with a shortcut (i.e. Cajun girl magic trick) that will make my dish just as yummy in half the time. Or Bean (that’s my adorable 3-year-old daughter and wildly famous sous chef) wants to help and I’ve gotta figure out how to make this recipe child-friendly.

In those cases, my recipes, content, photos, and Instagram captions, become practical, sensible, realistic guides for mindful, purposeful, and more “joy-full” living. Because not everything needs to be complicated. So many things in life today are unnecessarily difficult, and they cause people to feel stuck. In full transparency, for years, I felt stuck, and anxious, and weighed down with a heaviness I couldn’t explain. I began to use food and blogging as my therapy, and that’s how Fleur de Lis Sweets was born.

YOU are responsible for your own happiness. You and no one else. If you choose to play it safe and end up living an unfulfilled and passionless life, that will be your choice. You alone are the author of your story, so stop handing the pen off to other people. That pen is your voice and how you choose to use it is up to you. So speak up, be bold, and project that voice of yours even if it trembles a little bit. Because sharing your story and allowing your voice to be heard is what you were meant to do. Your authentic self is God’s greatest gift to the world and if you allow fear to silence that voice, the world will never experience the beauty of your narrative.

One of my favorite quotes is, “When you are overwhelmed, tired, or stressed, the solution is almost always… LESS. Get rid of something. LOTS of somethings.” ~ bemorewithless.com

Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
“But Mama, all my friends were doing it!”

“So, you mean to tell me that if your friends jumped off a bridge, you would do it too?”

I remember thinking to myself that this was the most extreme example of succumbing to peer pressure that I had ever heard and surely my choice to throw rocks at recess which resulted in a note home did not warrant such a morbid response. Parents certainly knew how to stick it to you, didn’t they? And where do they all go to learn these common phrases that scare children half to death? Is there a book somewhere? Can I purchase it from Amazon? Is it eligible for Prime shipping? Because I have a fearless 2 years old who could definitely use a healthy dose of old school parental caution.

It’s amazing what sticks with you from your childhood, isn’t it? Those familiar phrases, places, smells, and sounds that course through your consciousness like a cassette tape in that Sony Walkman you begged your parents for all year and finally got for Christmas, but couldn’t use it right away because they forgot to buy the AA batteries to go with it.

And even though the words remain the same, they begin to take on a whole new meaning as you live life, experience the world, and create little humans who look up to you, taking in every single thing that you do. Do you start dissecting those seemingly incredulous warnings and attempting to make some sense of them, because your parents would never just say things arbitrarily, right?

I don’t care what so and so’s mom lets them do. So and so’s mom doesn’t run my household or pay any bills around here.

Just because they’re doing it doesn’t make it right.

Everybody who smiles in your face ain’t your friend.

In some heavy moments of self- reflection, I’ve recently been able to re-frame so many of these nuggets of wisdom to make sense in my own life. Maybe mama’s words were less about the right or wrong of whatever shenanigans my friends were getting into, and more about teaching me the POWER of my own voice. That no matter what anyone else does, I can CHOOSE to do the opposite. No matter what type of wife or mother society says I should be, society doesn’t get to make any decisions for me because society doesn’t pay any bills at my house. Society isn’t ultimately responsible for my physical, emotional, and mental health. I have the power to choose what works for my family. If Bean is on a first name basis with the UberEats delivery guy and calls him her friend when he comes to our front door 3 times this week, while the mom across the street grows her own organic vegetables in her backyard, that is totally fine, too. The UberEats guy helped me feed my family and maintain my sanity this week. Not everyone you thought was your friend will understand and support your dreams, but your dream is still worth every single ounce of your passion and dedication. Because it’s yours and because it’s what your heart beats for. Maybe people think bakers should only write blogs about food and share recipes, but I am so much more than a baker and I have valuable experiences to share outside of the kitchen, so I can write what I want. My words are powerful and they will reach the people they were meant to reach.

So, I decided to take mama’s words and infuse them with the power of MY voice:

“Even if none of your friends jump, WILL YOU?”

In a world that praises comfort, convenience, and conformity, will you choose to take the risk, even if it means standing alone? Will you dare to be different, to defy expectations, to change the game and make your own rules? Will you trust and allow the authority inside of you to lead when all the voices around you try to drown it out?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fleurdelissweets.com
• Email: faith@fleurdelissweets.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/fleurdelissweets
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fleurdelissweets

Image Credit:
Faith@fleurdelisssweets, Jaylenardphoto

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